Spatial distributions of hemoglobin signals from superficial layers in the forehead during a verbal-fluency task.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals originate in hemoglobin changes in both the superficial layer of the head and the brain. Under the assumption that the changes in the blood flow in the scalp are spatially homogeneous in the region of interest, a variety of methods for reducing the superficial signals has been proposed. To clarify the spatial distributions of the superficial signals, the superficial signals from the forehead during a verbal-fluency task were investigated by using ten source–detector pairs separated by 5 mm, whereas fNIRS signals were also detected from two source–detector pairs separated by 30 mm.

Emotional discrimination during viewing unpleasant pictures: timing in human anterior ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and amygdala have critical roles in the generation and regulation of unpleasant emotions, and in this study the dynamic neural basis of unpleasant emotion processing was elucidated by using paired-samples permutation t-tests to identify the timing of emotional discrimination in various brain regions. We recorded the temporal dynamics of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals in those brain regions during the viewing of unpleasant pictures by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with high temporal resolution, and we compared the time course of the signal within the volume of interest (VOI) across emotional conditions. Results show that emotional discrimination in the right amygdala precedes that in the left amygdala and that emotional discrimination in both those regions precedes that in the right anterior VLPFC.

Broad cortical activation in response to tactile stimulation in newborns.

Tactile sensation, which is one of the earliest developing sensory systems, is very important in the perception of an individual's body and the surrounding physical environment, especially in newborns. However, currently, only little is known about the response of a newborn's brain to tactile sensation. The objective of the present study was to determine the response of a newborn's brain to tactile sensation and to compare the brain responses to various sensory stimuli.

Cerebral hemodynamic responses induced by specific acupuncture sensations during needling at trigger points: a near-infrared spectroscopic study.

Acupuncture stimulation at specific points, or trigger points (TPs), elicits sensations called "de-qi". De-qi sensations relate to the clinical efficacy of the treatment. However, it is neither clear whether de-qi sensations are associated with TPs, nor clear whether acupuncture effects on brain activity are associated with TPs or de-qi.

[Response to S-1+paclitaxel in far-advanced gastric cancer].

The patient was a 55-year-old man who was treated with S-1 and paclitaxel(PTX)combination chemotherapy for inoperable advanced gastric cancer in whom an abdominal CT examination had revealed peritoneal dissemination, pancreatic invasion, and ascites. A total of 15 courses of S-1 120 mg/day for 2 weeks followed by a 2-week rest period and PTX 90 mg/ body on day 1, 8, and 15 were administered. The CT examination after the completion of chemotherapy showed resolution of the ascites, and no evidence of peritoneal dissemination was observed on the images.

Brain cortical mapping by simultaneous recording of functional near infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalograms from the whole brain during right median nerve stimulation.

To investigate relationships between hemodynamic responses and neural activities in the somatosensory cortices, hemodynamic responses by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded simultaneously while subjects received electrical stimulation in the right median nerve. The statistical significance of the hemodynamic responses was evaluated by a general linear model (GLM) with the boxcar design matrix convoluted with Gaussian function. The resulting NIRS and EEGs data were stereotaxically superimposed on the reconstructed brain of each subject.

Removal of the skin blood flow artifact in functional near-infrared spectroscopic imaging data through independent component analysis.

We investigate whether the functional near-infrared spectroscopic (fNIRS) signal includes a signal from the changing skin blood flow. During a locomotor task on a treadmill, changes in the hemodynamic response in the front-parietal area of healthy human subjects are simultaneously recorded using an fNIRS imaging system and a laser Doppler tissue blood flow meter. Independent component analysis (ICA) for fNIRS signals is performed.

Three-dimensional probabilistic anatomical cranio-cerebral correlation via the international 10-20 system oriented for transcranial functional brain mapping.

The recent advent of multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has expanded its technical potential for human brain mapping. However, NIRS measurement has a technical drawback in that it measures cortical activities from the head surface without anatomical information of the object to be measured. This problem is also found in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that transcranially activates or inactivates the cortical surface.

FASCINATE: a pulse sequence for simultaneous acquisition of T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated images.

A pulse sequence that enables simultaneous acquisition of T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated images is presented. This sequence is referred to as FASCINATE (Fluid-Attenuated Scan Combined with Interleaved Non-ATtEnuation). In this new technique, the inversion pulse of conventional fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) is replaced with a fast spin echo (FSE) acquisition that has an additional 180(y)-90(x) pulse train for driven inversion.